Black Granite Baori Stepwell Block, 10in

A stepwell cut into a solid cube

Rajasthan's baoris are inverted buildings: instead of rising, they descend, flight after flight of narrow steps folding down the walls of a shaft toward the water. This 10-inch cube of black granite takes that geometry and nothing else. Four converging runs of steps step down from the top face in strict repetition to a small square well at the bottom. There is no ornament anywhere on it, and the outer faces are left entirely plain, so the whole piece is one idea carried out precisely.

Why black granite

The form is all edges, and edges need a stone that will hold them. Black granite is considerably harder than marble and takes a crisp arris that stays crisp, which is why it is the right choice here and why the interior reads as architecture rather than as carving. Honed rather than mirror-polished, it absorbs light instead of bouncing it, so the steps fall away into genuine darkness at the centre. The well at the base will hold a shallow film of water if you want it to.

Where it sits

It is a coffee-table and console piece, and it rewards being looked down into rather than across at. Ten inches square is enough to anchor a low table on its own. It is heavy for its size, which is part of how it reads.

Making yours

Step count, cube size and the depth of the shaft can all change, and a shallower version works better on a narrow shelf. It is cut for you by the master sculptors we work with in Jaipur, who rough the shaft with machine tooling and finish every arris by hand — the tolerance is what makes or breaks this one. Allow four to eight weeks.